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I am fostering a 4 day old kitten. Mother died after being…

Customer Question

I am fostering a...

I am fostering a 4 day old kitten. Mother died after being unable to deliver all the kittens. Family didn't know there were kittens inside until it was too late. He's been eating good, pooping, peeing. I was feeding him a few minutes ago and I noticed his left front paw is swollen. It's not warm but this is something new. Could I have mistakenly broke it? I'm freaking out a bit as it's not my kitten I'm just taking care of it because I have experience with bottle feeding.

Veterinarian's Assistant: I'm sorry to hear that. What is the kitten's name?

Doesn't have a name yet

Veterinarian's Assistant: Is there anything else the Veterinarian should be aware of about the kitten?

Experience: Small animal veterinarian with a special interest in cats, happy to discuss any questions you have.

Verified

Hello & welcome, I am Dr. B, a licensed veterinarian and I would like to help you today.

How long has it been swollen?

Is it painful if you flex/extend the toes and wrist?

Does it feel fluidy?

Any wounds in the skin recently?

Can you take a photo so I can see what you are seeing? To post it, you can use the paper clip button on the tool bar above the text box (last icon). Or if you cannot see that, then post it on any site (ie Flickr, Photobucket, Imgr Instagram, etc) & paste the link here for me.

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Customer reply replied 1 year ago

I just noticed it swollen during a 3 am feeding. He doesn't seem to have any pain but he is only a few days old. no wounds in the skin. I'll try to take a pictureis there a way to message you the picture?

Thank you, ***** ***** can take a photo that will be grand to let me see what you are seeing here. There is no message feature for the site, but you can use the paperclip button over the text box to post it here. Else any site is fine if you just send me the link. I will keep an eye out for your photo.

It just has, let me download it and have a look. I will post my thoughts in full shortly.

Dr. B.

Now looking at this paw, it does look mildly swollen but given his lack of pain response or generally fussing/being unsettled, a fracture here isn't likely. Though we can see this with soft tissue inflammation, secondary to infection (possibly from a breach in skin but at this age we can see blood borne bacterial infections originating from the umbilicus), or with reduced lymphatic drainage (often when the paw has been folded or in an odd position for a bit). We can also see seromas and hematomas with trauma but these look less likely as well. In this case, we'd want to plan to monitor this little one and as we do we can warm compress this. If you do not have a warm compress at home, you can make one by filling a small or baby sock filled 2/3rds full of uncooked rice. This can be microwaved for a minute or so until warm. Shake it to distribute the heat (and do check its not too warm). This can be rewarmed as needed. We can also put the kitten on a heating pad if he isn't already, of course making sure we don't overheat him. If it is reduced drainage or soft tissue inflammation (or a seroma/hematoma) then it should reduce with these over 12-24 hours. But if it lingers then we'd want to consider a check up to make sure we don't have bacterial infection lurking (fractures can of course be checked for at the same time) that may need antibiotics to head off for him.

I aim to provide best care for you just as I do for my own clients & their pets. If you have any other questions, please ask – I’m happy to help but please rate me with the**STARS** (or leave a written rating of 1-5; 5 being great) as this is the only way I am credited for my work by the site & this allows me to continue to help here. This is included in your question fee. Once you rate, your question will not close & you can still ask follow-up questions. Thank you. : )**

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Customer reply replied 1 year ago

He's on a heating pad that covers half the bottom of the basket he's in. There is also an owl that's stuffed with something that is used as a warm or cold compress as needed (either warm in microwave or put in freezer). The owl absorbs some of the heat from the heating pad and kitty snuggles up to it. I'm wondering if he slept on it funny and that caused the swelling? I'll keep an eye on it.

And its not uncommon for them to catch their paw folded over when sleeping, so do keep an eye and hopefully this will settle down. Of course, if it were to get any larger that usually is a clue of bacterial infection (as pus builds but the others should reach a max size quickly then reduce) and something we'd want him seen for.

I aim to provide best care for you just as I do for my own clients & their pets. If you have any other questions, please ask – I’m happy to help but please rate me with the**STARS** (or leave a written rating of 1-5; 5 being great) as this is the only way I am credited for my work by the site & this allows me to continue to help here. This is included in your question fee. Once you rate, your question will not close & you can still ask follow-up questions. Thank you. : )**

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Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.